Frangible, or breakable, materials are designed to disintegrate into fragments or dust upon impact with an object or surface having a hardness greater than the frangible material. In this context, frangible projectiles have been produced to exhibit analogous behavior upon impacting a target. As a result, frangible projectiles have reduced risk of harm to unintended targets from ricochets or over-penetration, which can occur with solid projectiles. Moreover, the properties of frangible projectiles make them ideal candidates for use as ammunition in close proximity combat or target environments.
Conventional frangible projectiles are prepared using metal powders, such as, for example, Cu-10% Sn powders, which are sintered under high temperature. Preparation techniques for such conventional frangible projections include sintering under high temperatures, requiring extensive processing equipment and energy. In addition, the properties of the resulting frangible projectiles are inextricably tied to the metals and sintering conditions used in their preparation.
Therefore, there remains a need for improved frangible projectiles and methods for the manufacture thereof, which can provide economical and effective frangible projectiles. This need and other needs are satisfied by the present invention.